Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userSpin-polarized triplet supercurrent in Josephson junctions with perpendicular ferromagnetic layers
139
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
Josephson junctions containing three ferromagnetic layers with non-collinear magnetizations between adjacent layers carry spin-triplet supercurrent under certain conditions. The signature of the spin-triplet supercurrent is a relatively slow decay of the maximum supercurrent as a function of the thickness of the middle ferromagnetic layer. In this work we focus on junctions where the middle magnetic layer is a [Co/Pd]$_N$ multilayer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), while the outer two layers have in-plane anisotropy. We compare junctions where the middle PMA layer is or is not configured as a synthetic antiferromagnet (PMA-SAF). We find that the supercurrent decays much more rapidly with increasing the number $N$ of [Co/Pd] bilayers in the PMA-SAF junctions compared to the PMA junctions. Similar behavior is observed in junctions containing [Co/Ni]$_N$ PMA multilayers. We model that behavior by assuming that each Co/Pd or Co/Ni interface acts as a partial spin filter, so that the spin-triplet supercurrent in the PMA junctions becomes more strongly spin-polarized as $N$ increases while the supercurrent in the PMA-SAF junctions is suppressed with increasing $N$. We also address a question raised in a previous work regarding how much spin-singlet supercurrent is transmitted through our nominally spin-triplet junctions. We do that by comparing spin-triplet junctions with similar junctions where the order of the magnetic layers has been shuffled. The results of this work are expected to be helpful in designing spin-triplet Josephson junctions for use in cryogenic memory.
rate research
Read More
In the past year, several groups have observed evidence for long-range spin-triplet supercurrent in Josephson junctions containing ferromagnetic (F) materials. In our work, the spin-triplet pair correlations are created by non-collinear magnetizations between a central Co/Ru/Co synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) and two outer thin F layers. Here we present data showing that the spin-triplet supercurrent is enhanced up to 20 times after our samples are subject to a large in-plane magnetizing field. This surprising result can be explained if the Co/Ru/Co SAF undergoes a spin-flop transition, whereby the two Co layer magnetizations end up perpendicular to the magnetizations of the two thin F layers. Direct experimental evidence for the spin-flop transition comes from scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis and from spin-polarized neutron reflectometry.
In 2010, several experimental groups obtained compelling evidence for spin-triplet supercurrent in Josephson junctions containing strong ferromagnetic materials. Our own best results were obtained from large-area junctions containing a thick central Co/Ru/Co synthetic antiferromagnet and two thin outer layers made of Ni or PdNi alloy. Because the ferromagnetic layers in our samples are multi-domain, one would expect the sign of the local current-phase relation inside the junctions to vary randomly as a function of lateral position. Here we report measurements of the area dependence of the critical current in several samples, where we find some evidence for those random sign variations. When the samples are magnetized, however, the critical current becomes clearly proportional to the area, indicating that the current-phase relation has the same sign across the entire area of the junctions.
We present measurements of Josephson junctions containing three magnetic layers with noncolinear magnetizations. The junctions are of the form $S/F^{prime}/N/F/N/F^{prime prime}/S$, where $S$ is superconducting Nb, $F^prime$ is either a thin Ni or Permalloy layer with in-plane magnetization, $N$ is the normal metal Cu, $F$ is a synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) with magnetization perpendicular to the plane, composed of Pd/Co multilayers on either side of a thin Ru spacer, and $F^{prime prime}$ is a thin Ni layer with in-plane magnetization. The supercurrent in these junctions decays more slowly as a function of the $F$-layer thickness than for similar spin-singlet junctions not containing the $F^prime$ and $F^{prime prime}$ layers. The slower decay is the prime signature that the supercurrent in the central part of these junctions is carried by spin-triplet pairs. The junctions containing $F^{prime}=$ Permalloy are suitable for future experiments where either the amplitude of the critical current or the ground-state phase difference across the junction is controlled by changing the relative orientations of the magnetizations of the $F^{prime}$ and $F^{prime prime}$ layers.
The lengthscale over which supercurrent from conventional BCS, $s$-wave, superconductors ($S$) can penetrate an adjacent ferromagnetic ($F$) layer depends on the ability to convert singlet Cooper pairs into triplet Cooper pairs. Spin aligned triplet Cooper pairs are not dephased by the ferromagnetic exchange interaction, and can thus penetrate an $F$ layer over much longer distances than singlet Cooper pairs. These triplet Cooper pairs carry a dissipationless spin current and are the fundamental building block for the fledgling field of superspintronics. Singlet-triplet conversion by inhomogeneous magnetism is well established. Here, we describe an attempt to use spin orbit coupling as a new mechanism to mediate singlet-triplet conversion in $S-F-S$ Josephson junctions. We report that the addition of thin Pt spin-orbit coupling layers in our Josephson junctions significantly increases supercurrent transmission, however the decay length of the supercurrent is not found to increase. We attribute the increased supercurrent transmission to Pt acting as a buffer layer to improve the growth of the Co $F$ layer.
Josephson junctions made with conventional s-wave superconductors and containing multiple layers of ferromagnetic materials can carry spin-triplet supercurrent in the presence of certain types of magnetic inhomogeneity. In junctions containing three ferromagnetic layers, the triplet supercurrent is predicted to be maximal when the magnetizations of adjacent layers are orthogonal, and zero when the magnetizations of any two adjacent layers are parallel. Here we demonstrate on-off control of the spin-triplet supercurrent in such junctions, achieved by rotating the magnetization direction of one of the three layers by 90$^{circ}$. We obtain on-off ratios of 5, 7, and 19 for the supercurrent in the three samples studied so far. These observations directly confirm one of the most salient predictions of the theory, and pave the way for applications of spin-triplet Josephson junctions in the nascent area of superconducting spintronics.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
